Principles
At Ruislip High School, the curriculum is ambitious and challenging, in order to allow Ruislip High School students to gain the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in life. The curriculum is founded on a determination to raise the aspirations and ambitions of our students through both academic and personal development and centres on our mission ‘From grassroots to reaching for the sky’.
At Ruislip High School, passion for subjects is placed at the heart of the curriculum so that lessons foster the love and enthusiasm that first caught the imagination of teachers in that subject. The curriculum is informed by cognitive science research and is constantly reviewed and updated to reflect our local and global context.
We are proud to be a school both in, and for, the local community and we recognise that students join us from a range of different starting points. Teachers at Ruislip High School have high expectations of all students regardless of their starting points. All students have access to the full curriculum through quality-first teaching and all students study creative and practical subjects alongside the more traditional core subjects. Additional support is given to students who join the school who require intervention but this is in addition to, not a replacement of, the full curriculum experience.
Reading is the key to unlocking the curriculum. All subject areas teach disciplinary literacy and promote reading to support students to read fluently and with comprehension, and to develop a joy of reading.
CURRICULUM JOURNEY
At Key Stage 3, students build on their learning from primary school. Students study English; mathematics; science; art, craft and design; computer science; history; geography; French or Spanish; food and nutrition; drama; music; physical education; and cultural studies (citizenship, religious education, personal, social and health education).
In Year 9, students are supported through the process of selecting their options for Key Stage 4; the offer is a balance between traditional and vocational subjects. This process begins in the spring term so that there is plenty of time to allow students and parents to make this important decision.
All students study GCSEs in English Language, English Literature, Mathematics, Science (either two or three GCSEs depending on the depth of study) and Citizenship. Most students also study at least one ancient or foreign language, History and Geography. Further GCSE options include Art, Computer Science, Drama, and Media Studies and vocational options include Health and Social Care, and Sport.
Students enter the Sixth Form to study for Level 3 qualifications, either taking a full A-level programme or a mix of A-level subjects plus BTEC Level 3 courses. Students are invited to attend a Sixth Form Open Evening in the autumn term of Year 11 to guide and support them through the transition process.
The Ruislip High School Sixth Form curriculum offered includes A-level courses in Art, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Drama, English Literature, Geography, History, Law, Mathematics, Media Studies, Politics, Physics, Psychology, and Sociology, and BTEC courses in Sport, and Health and Social Care.
Students also benefit from the school being part of the Vanguard Learning Trust; this gives students the opportunity to take one Level 3 subject at Vyners School. This has broadened the subject choices available to sixth form students.
THE WIDER CURRICULUM
The opportunities students are offered outside academic subjects are extensive. In addition to the timetabled curriculum, over a number of days each year the school timetable is collapsed so that quality cross-curricular activities can be organised. These days offer varied opportunities to explore individual or cross-curricular subject disciplines in greater depth.
As a school we observe particular weeks to support students’ character development, including Safer Internet Week and Safeguarding Week. Additionally, a wide programme of school visits are organised each year to places of local, national and international significance/interest. These include trips to the theatre, to Battlefield sites and to Paris. The school is proud to run the Duke of Edinburgh programme at Bronze, Silver and Gold Award level. Students are also encouraged to participate in extracurricular activities on a regular basis through the Above & Beyond programme and these include revision opportunities for year groups taking public exams.
To view our curriculum for 2024-25, please click below. For further information please visit Curriculum Areas.